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The 5th Down: Tier 2 Fantasy Football Rankings · The Poi N Soy Podcast

• Keoni McKeague: Welcome back to the podcast. I'm your co-host Kearney McKeegan. With me today on the FitDown is my boyfriend the FitDown, Nolan Chang. Say what's up to the pod, Nolan: Wadabadabadoo! Keoni McKeague: So we are here to continue our tier series. This is tier two. So if you haven't gone and watched our tier one, go ahead and check that out on YouTube or on our normal podcasting platforms, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. ⁓ Yeah, but we're continuing that series today with Nolan here, our fantasy expert. But before we do any of that, we have to talk about our partners over at W Energy. Fantastic tasting energy. All of the energy you need to get through your day. You head on over to w.gg or use the W Energy app in our promo code, which is poi and soy. That's P-O-I-N. SOI for 10 % off your order Nolan. Let's talk some NFL fantasy football. Nolan: Yeah thererrrr Keoni McKeague: So as we continue this series, obviously you are continuing on from tier one and this is tier two. So like we said before, I know just as I was about to say it, I completely forgot to bring it up, but I was like, just as we did last week, we're going to continue on by first starting off naming the players that are in the fantasy pros tiers again, not sponsored, but if you're not using fantasy pros, you're not playing fantasy football. Seriously. Anyway, you head on over to fantasy pros.com, check out their They have them all over the place. Yeah, how's like cuz really it's a fantastic tool We highly recommend it. So go out there use their tools. They have a lot of rankings It'll help you get through your drafts and it's a consensus ranking. So it's Yahoo. It's sleeper It's all of the experts all mixed into one so you'll have pretty much the best and most up-to-date rankings you can find but anyway, that's what we're using to reference and then we'll kind of be Talking through the positions from all of the skill positions obviously and today we're starting at the quarterback position Nolan: Scrub, that's what you are. Keoni McKeague: position. Nolan, this is tier two of the quarterback position and obviously our tier ones were different. again, go back to the last episode, check it out, listen to that. Just for a refresh real quick, what was your tier one and then we'll kind of start at your top of your tier two. Nolan: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Tier 1 in order were 4 players Josh Allen, Drake May, Jaden Daniels, and Joe Burrow. Keoni McKeague: Right on and then give us your tier two list. How many you got in there? What's different? ⁓ sorry. I forgot to mention before I forgot to say the top three in the tier two for fantasy pros. Joe Burrow, Jaden Daniels, Jalen Hertz. Those are your three sitting in tier two. A couple of those names are already mentioned in our tier one. So again. You've heard that already, but Nolan, what do you got? You said seven. Wow. Nolan: I got seven. Oh no, go ahead. Yeah, yeah. ⁓ I was trying to whittle it down a little bit, but as I was looking through it, all seven of these players, in my opinion, kind of embody, I guess you would say, like, if you're going week to week, and you were playing against these quarterbacks, I think all seven of these guys would kind of instill the same I don't want to call it fear, but worry when you're playing against them because of what they can put up numbers-wise, ⁓ also given their situations. So that's why it is a little bit more hefty with seven players. But I will go into it. First one right off the bat, Justin Herbert. ⁓ We've talked about the Chargers situation right now. Justin Herbert showed flashes of fantastic quarterback play last season. ⁓ He pretty much has... Keoni McKeague: Whoa. Nolan: Ideally the same weapons, but now he has ⁓ even better maestro behind the behind the scenes who's gonna help him kind of elevate his game ⁓ He is a dual threat quarterback. He can get it done with his legs as well, though He doesn't necessarily he's not known for getting it done with his legs. He does have that capability ⁓ He has a fantastic arm. Obviously he's returning with lad QJ I'm hoping Trey Harris gets a little bit more love this season ⁓ Gadsden and then obviously you have Hampton in the backfield going that's ready to go off for a sophomore season. ⁓ But yeah, I think the biggest thing here that kind of pushed him up above the guy that will meant I'll mention next is the fact that Mike Mcdonald's is there and we've seen what kind of offense Mike Mcdonald's alone as a head coach can do for a team like the Dolphins. Now that he is pretty much top priority to run the offense for this Chargers team. I assume that Justin Herbert's going to take another kind of step up in his career. Hmm Keoni McKeague: Yeah, and this is arguably a much better team than his Dolphins teams. mean, minus that one year, you know, they had that one flash year where they look like contenders and then everything fell apart. Yeah. I mean, offensively, yeah, they were stupid. Yeah. Nolan: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where it was just stupid. Too-a, you know, little... Anyways, going on to my next one in tier two, Lamar Jackson. Now, obviously, as you can see, we talked about last week, I did fade him a little bit from tier one, and then of course, he's not even the top of tier two. Keoni McKeague: What was that? ⁓ that's right. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Whoo, I just realized you put him below Justin Herbert. Damn. Yeah, you believing in that boy. Nolan: Yeah, yeah. We same same thing. I think I mentioned last time Lamar Jackson is a good quarterback. I don't think his situation there has gotten any better. ⁓ We already. Yeah, we he lost his center, right? Lindabom ⁓ and he's getting a new coach. So now it's going to be him kind of learning new offensive sets and how he's going to work around. Thankfully, it's chemistry that he's already has with a lot of these guys, but. Keoni McKeague: Probably got worse, yeah. Yep. Nolan: when you look at their offense and you're looking at Derek Henry, he's not really gonna be getting much out of, mean, his production is not gonna matter for whatever Derek Henry does. And then of course you have Zay Flowers, but we've harked on it multiple times. We're not huge Zay Flowers fans. He's a good wide receiver, but he's nothing to write home about. I don't think he deserves any sort of like max extension or anything like that. ⁓ So that's kind of why he dropped a little bit lower for me. Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Yeah. Nolan: Hoping, you know, he can get a little more things done with his legs, but out of out of ⁓ RPO rather than necessity of scramble out of the out of sex. ⁓ Keoni McKeague: It feels like it's going to come from necessity this year. I mean, that line is not looking good heading into the year, bro. Yeah. I was like, ugh. Yeah. Nolan: Yeah. Mm-hmm. ⁓ Yeah. Next one. Caleb Williams. ⁓ He showed something really amazing last season with Ben Johnson now as his head coach. I mean, it's short sample size, but he has learned to elevate his game year to year. And I assume that that's going to kind of come a little bit more fluidly this season, especially with his second year with Ben Johnson, same crew returning. has two young, three young guys in the receiving groups that he can actually use. Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Yeah. Nolan: So I think that's going to be a fantastic use for him. And that's why I pushed him a little bit higher because I do think in the NFC, the Bears are a team to be on the lookout for. Fourth on my tier two is Dak Prescott. Nothing really crazy to explain about Dak. We know what he's got. We know what he gives. Now he has two, quote unquote wide receiver ones in his locker room. So I think that's even better. Keoni McKeague: Mm-hmm. Nolan: if all three of those guys can stay healthy at the same time, it's gonna be a really fun thing to watch from the Dallas team. ⁓ I would say the only thing that kinda didn't push him a little higher is that depending on what their consistency looks like, because I do think that sometimes they do kind of, I don't wanna say lower their guard in how they run their offense, but you can tell that there's certain lapses here and there. Whether it's from ego, whether it's just from design play or just an off day from either of the three guys, it happens. So that's why he's kind of just smack dab in the middle of my tier two. ⁓ Next one up, Matthew Stafford. Healthy Matthew Stafford? Yeah, yeah. Healthy Matthew Stafford ⁓ is all the reason to be in tier two. Keoni McKeague: Whoa, wow. Tier 2 is definitely going to be where we, I mean, yeah, for sure. Yeah, I was like, this is where we start dividing up our list a little bit more. Nolan: Yep, this is where it goes, right? ⁓ ⁓ I think the biggest thing is that this Rams team that I follow obviously is running it back. You saw what he did with Puka last year. You saw what he did with Devontae Adams in the red zones. They use them exactly how they're supposed to be. They do three tight end sets, which allow a lot more questionability from other teams defenses on how to read the offense. Matt Stafford does not look like he's lost a step. If anything, he's gone up a step from the year prior to last season. Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Nolan: ⁓ So I think that this is all the reason to have him. He was someone that was I think like a 17th round pick last season for our league or somewhere around there because I think Jared picked him up like in the later later rounds ⁓ but ⁓ He's putting up like 20 something points a game or low 20 something points of games for as a quarterback of his age his Veterans ship and whatever want to call it ⁓ And the fact that the offense isn't changing, still the same coaching staff, I think this is going to be really, really nice for them. Keoni McKeague: Yeah, I agree with that. Nolan: Next one, same division, Brock Purdy. ⁓ Brock Purdy now has a new wide receiver one, one that necessarily doesn't come with all the drama. ⁓ He has in his tight end room, he still has Tongues, which is still a great tight end in the stead of Kittle until Kittle is healthy if he returns this season. ⁓ You still have Ricky Pearsall, who I think is, who didn't get a fair shake last season because he was also one of the handful of players that suffered from a PCL injury. Keoni McKeague: Mm-hmm. Nolan: I do think he is a solid wide receiver that's going to get a lot more opportunity this season as long as he can stay healthy on the field. ⁓ But this group, Brock Purdy, Kyle Shanahan's offense, Brock is the perfect guy to fit in there because he's able to play into it so well. So that's why I do have him at tier two as well. And last, Jackson Dart. ⁓ Yes, I know. Yeah, I pushed him up there. ⁓ Keoni McKeague: You know it's funny it's not even that I was like just looking at some of the names that you didn't put it here I'm like ⁓ you are fading some players for sure yeah. Nolan: Mm-hmm. I am fading some ⁓ I will say some of the ones that I faded are Whether it's because they're injured and not sure how they're gonna return or also their their situation has not increased in a better Outlook for me, but we'll get to that in the next segment for or the next year segment ⁓ But yeah Jackson Dart ⁓ he has Malik neighbors coming off her almost surprised me Malik neighbors is coming back this season Ideally, he will be ready for week one. That is the hope and the dream. I think he's gotten the full year of recovery. So I think that actually is fitting the timeline very well. He has Isaiah likely now that's going to be over there. You know, Darius Slayton has your wide receiver too. Not the worst in the world. I think that because they're comfortable with each other, that's going to be something to look out for as well. Obviously, the new coaching staff is going to be able to put something in. Really, I don't want to say. that John Harbaugh is going to dramatically change how Jackson Dart plays. But I do think he's going to have a positive effect on him being able to stay a little bit more healthy and upright as a quarterback, especially because Jackson likes to use his legs a lot. And when you have a quarterback that does use his legs a lot, you do want to keep them healthy as long as you can. Because we saw where the cracks, if you will, ⁓ could come from for his career if he doesn't take care of himself. Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Nolan: Same thing with Kam Skadebo. think that if he... Yeah, exactly, exactly. ⁓ coming from a coach who literally, not saying that, they're on the same level, or using their legs, but coming from a coach who coached Lamar Jackson for his entire career thus far, ⁓ if you have a running quarterback, I think he's gonna be able to use him to a good percentage amount of this season for ⁓ the better, for the positive, for the benefit. Keoni McKeague: It's like, don't need a 202.0 situation. You know what I mean? Yeah. Nolan: But yeah, that rounds out my tier 2. Keoni McKeague: That's. It's a list, my boy. That is a list. and I went very different directions. Yeah, you definitely don't. It's not even that. I I'm with you on a good majority of those. I I ain't going to sugarcoat it. mean, our lists are similar. Obviously, our tier ones are very different. So to remind everybody, my tier one conversation started, of course, with Josh Allen, Drake May, Lamar Jackson, and Jaden Daniels. Those are my tier one guys last week. And we're here to talk about my tier two, which starts obvious with the name that is not in tier Nolan: That is a l- I know what that- took some swings! Keoni McKeague: one that a lot of people have in that year one, which is Joe Burrow. ⁓ I faded him into the tier two of players just because I don't like the idea of him having the possible injury risk and the effect that I mean, it can be how many, just five years in a row that he's had some kind of ailing injury. But on top of that, I just don't like the idea that he doesn't have any rushing upside. So really everything is tied to his ability to run or to throw the ball. And with this team not improving really anywhere, you know what I mean? it's, yeah, exactly. the, the bangle. Nolan: Mm-hmm. That's true. That's true. Whaaaa Keoni McKeague: have every single need on defense. We'll see if they end up fixing or addressing any of those throughout the draft. I mean, if they don't, they would just be very stupid as an organization. Hopefully we get that figured out for them. But yeah, I mean, there's a lot of holes on that team. So even though I have him at the top of tier two, that's the reason I faded him out of tier one. I think he's got all the talent, but if health is a concern and then the fact that they don't have anybody really protecting him, I mean, that all could fall apart very quickly. So moving on to my second player of the tier, it's Caleb. Williams. I agreed with you, Harley on the takes. mean, he is in year three of the Ben Johnson system. They clearly have, ⁓ they're much more improved as they as evidenced by last year. He looks really comfortable in that scheme. He looks really comfortable throwing the ball in that scheme. That, you know, to his detriment a little bit because we kind of saw the turnovers taking uptick a little bit this last year, but Nolan: Yeah. Keoni McKeague: All things told, that's kind of what you want out of your quarterback. You do want him to make aggressive plays. We've seen a few of those that were great and then some that were just absolute dog water. And as we've kind of mentioned before, with Caleb Williams, that's always gonna be the case. It's either you're gonna get a fantastic play or fantastic week or maybe a not so good week, but. The rushing is there. you know what mean? Even if he doesn't throw great, maybe throws for 150 yards or sub 150. He's probably running in for a touchdown some point in there. And that team is only much more improved this year. So I don't really think that they're going anywhere. And I think that with Ben Johnson there, I mean, this team is only going to be. moving up higher and higher in the rankings. ⁓ my number three quarterback I have in here is Brock Purdy. ⁓ I put Brock Purdy over a majority of the names that I had here because I still think that he was one of the best value QBs last year. And he's he showed that in I mean, the six weeks or whatever. So that he came in after Mac Jones had to start for him for a little bit. ⁓ He showed. No. Yeah. Shout out to Mac Jones. Yeah. Probably the best backup in the entire NFL right now. But yeah. I mean, Brock Purdy shows that he's perfectly built. Nolan: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Okay. Shout out to Mac Jones though. Bo is slinging it. Keoni McKeague: like you said for the Kyle Shanahan system, he has all of the weapons and I agree with you wholeheartedly on Jake Tongus. Like if George Kittle is not ready by beginning of the season, you have to wait till mid season somewhere. That's a great receiving threat for you from the tight end position. On top of that, you just got Mike Evans. So the red zone threat that they had none of last year is now there with Mike Evans. That's a big body that you can throw to ⁓ in the red zone. And once they get back, George Kittle, I mean, it's going to be even better. On top of that. I mean, Christian McCaffrey was their number one wide receiver last year. I mean, quite literally, as long as it's him getting the. Yeah, yeah, I mean, as long as he's getting him the ball, I mean, that's going to be yards and catches or and throws for Rockbirdie. So just another wing under his belt and on top of that, the fact that he'll be able to, you know, be rushing and do all that kind of stuff. Nolan: Yeah. I didn't even mention it but yeah that was another note but yeah. Sorry, how many players do you have for this tier? I forgot. Keoni McKeague: ⁓ sorry. Yeah, I didn't even mention a good call. I was like, I have eight. So that's why I was like, I was laughing and whatever because you said seven and I was just like, that's crazy. You have so many players. ⁓ But anyway, yeah. Moving on to my number four, have Dak Prescott. So somewhere in the middle there, I guess, for this group. I agreed with everything you said. I mean, we saw last year he at one point was an MVP candidate. I mean, that's because his offense was carrying the Cowboys into relevation. Nolan: DEUH! Keoni McKeague: Obviously with George Pickens there and CD Lamb, they have the best wide receiver duo in all of the NFL. And now, I mean, they're going to be at least marginally improved for the rest of the team. You brought back Givonta Williams, so that sustained play that he had all of last year comes back. And then on top of that, I mean, you're going to be another year into George Pickens, which this is his contract year. So if there's a year that he's going to be showing out, it's this year. We saw that with Steelers. We're seeing that now with Kyle boys. yeah. And then on top of that, mean, Dak is just one of the most aggressive quarterbacks in all of the NFL, which I mean, for fantasy. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Definitely going to there's there'll be some interceptions in there. Yeah. I was like, but yeah, your boy can sling the ball. when he's slinging the ball, that's good news for a fantasy owner. So that's why I have him here. Moving on to the next one. This is probably my hottest take from this entire list because he's much. Nolan: to a detriment sometimes, but when it sings, it sings. As in you're, you faded him down or you pushed him up? Keoni McKeague: No, this is a push up. yeah, he's probably in maybe the next or the one after this tier for fantasy pros. I'm not even sure I haven't looked at the list, but my number five in tier two is going to be Kyler Murray. ⁓ I. Nolan: Hoo, doggy, ah-hoo. Keoni McKeague: I have Kyler Murray way up here because I do fully believe in Kyler Murray's talent. I think what happened to him with Arizona, wholly not his fault. You had all of the differences in the coaching staff. You had the differences in sort of what they wanted to do with their offensive system. I don't think that they ever really supported him post-MVP season. And once he got injured, it pretty much all fell apart. He's heading to a system that is perfectly built, somewhat. similar to like the Brock Purdy with Kyle Shanahan. Kyler Murray with Kevin O'Connell is going to be something to marvel at this year. And I think not only does he raise the floor of all of the players on this team, but if he returns even somewhere close to his MVP, ⁓ what? Nolan: I was gonna make a short joke. He raised the floor. Come on, come on. You lit that one up. Keoni McKeague: ⁓ come on. Come on. Come on. Yeah, I know. But OK. I was like, and I will say that is still something that we're worried about here. But I was like, all things told, if he returns anywhere near to the form of where he was as an MVP candidate, I mean, this this dude is wildly talented. ⁓ I. Nolan: You Mm-hmm. He's still relatively young as a quarterback. He's relatively young. Keoni McKeague: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. He's still got legs. He still can move. mean, he's still a great thrower of the ball. mean, this is a team that's going to be much improved because they have him. And they were a team that really was missing just that. They were missing a quarterback. I mean, they have all of the receiver talent out there. I mean, you obviously have Jay Jeddas. You have Jordan Addison. And then they got TJ Hockinson, who's a wildly underutilized tight end from this last year that could be a big time weapon for them. And of course, getting Aaron Jones back was actually a boon for them because he is still one of the better receiving running backs basically in the NFL, even though he's a little another year older and obviously going to be a step slower or whatever. But yeah, Kyle Murray, I slid him up here just because I just fully am buying in on Kyle Murray's talent and his ability to lock into that Kevin O'Connell system. So after him, I did go with Justin Herbert. So really what it came down to was as you kind of could hear tell by the names that I mentioned above him. Rushing Upside, that's it. I mean, he has all the talent, the team is much improved, you have Mike McDaniels there, the system is all built for him. I mean, I still think he's one of the better arm talents in all of the NFL that I don't disagree on at all. I only put him here below the guys that I had because I'm prioritizing guys who can rush and That's really all it comes down to. mean, I know that he can rush. He just doesn't rush as much as, you know, those other guys probably will. So, ⁓ yeah, short and sweet to the point. The next one after that, I still have Jalen Hurts in this tier. ⁓ This comes down to what I think is going to happen, which is that I do think that they ultimately end up trading AJ Brown. I think that they'll focus on drafting his replacement somewhere in the draft. Nolan: Yeah, yeah. Keoni McKeague: If it's that trade with the Patriots, I mean at 32 or excuse me, 31, you're looking at somebody who could really step in and start day one alongside Devontae Smith. I think that there's a plethora of options out there, but most importantly, this signifies to me that they're going to be running the ball a ton this year. And with them bringing back Dallas Goddard, who's, you Nolan: Mm-hmm. Keoni McKeague: Great receiving tight end but also one of the better blocking tight ends. They added another blocking tight end this offseason as well You'll have sehkwan obviously fully healthy this year. I think there was something nagging with him last year So that's all, you know, hopefully ironed out over this last offseason or yeah over this offseason And I think we'll see him rushing a lot more this year So all things told I could not fade him out of the tier because I just think that Him running the ball in a system that's gonna be running the ball and was one of the run heaviest especially with the touch push and the touchdown equity. Jaylen Hirch is still going to be in a tier two for me. And then my final player of this tier. I'm in agreement, It's Jackson Dart. I had to put him in here. thought, I don't think that you could slide him any further. And really the only reason you can slide him any further, because the upside is all there. The coaching is there. The team is there. I mean, he has everything built for him is really just his health. That's the only reason I'd put him below the guys that I have above him is like, you're constantly worried about this kid ending up in some sort of concussion protocol. Hopefully Harbaugh can coach that out of him because you as you mentioned before he had Lamar Jackson but it's you know he had to teach Lamar how to use his legs at the right moments and not just continually focus on that so for Jackson Dart similarly man and I hope that he can stay healthy because all the upside in the world so ⁓ anyway I think that'll do it for our tier two players or tier two quarterbacks excuse me let's move on to the running back position let's start off with the fantasy pros one so obviously fantasy pros Nolan: Mm-hmm. Keoni McKeague: They have ⁓ James Cook as the number one in this tier. Devon Achan, Ashton Gentie, Omarion Hampton, and Saquon Barkley. That rounds out tier two for them. So five players in that tier. Nolan, who do you have in tier two running backs? And better yet, how much do you have to start off with? Nolan: Seven again. Keoni McKeague: I don't want to say how much I have. I went running back heavy. yeah, I'll just say this, mine's just 10. So I'll just put that out there. Nolan: Well, I know you were prioritizing running back, so I know you're just... Yeah, yeah. ⁓ No, so ⁓ Nothing nothing crazy with the I guess variation of the order I have from what you just read as the consensus ⁓ Obviously because I moved to Vaughn a Chan up last week or last segment James Cook is still number one for me. He is the He's the he carries the cart, you know, he Keoni McKeague: You Yeah. Nolan: that team he pushes upfield the only detriment that was is that he didn't really get the red line or gold line looks is because josh allen would rush it in or they'd use kinkade or nox or their rookie tight end haws or whatever never using their wide receivers spoiler alert you know ⁓ yeah no freaking rookie i'm just gonna ⁓ Keoni McKeague: ⁓ I hated Hawes in this. ⁓ my gosh. How many times I'm like, is it at least King Kade? Nope, it's Hawes. Of course. It's like, of course, it's somebody nobody drafted. Those are my favorite. Good for them. You know, it's probably their first career touchdown. Nolan: ⁓ Good he's probably a great option to do prop bets if you guys are doing that, you know Keoni McKeague: Yeah, exactly. I'm just like, I can't stand that when I'm like, who is it? ⁓ it's Oskwass Rimmhelf from, you know, just like, ⁓ great. Does that not sound like a guy who's on the bench somewhere? Nolan: Squash a rim now? Alright. It's like a creative character. But yeah, I mean, we just kind of went off on a tangent on it. Keoni McKeague: Also, that was crazy that you said the exact name that I said somehow. I said Oshkosh Remhealth, and you said Oshkosh Remhealth. I was like, wow, you actually said it. I just made that up on the spot. So yeah, that was great. Nolan: I don't remember it now. Goldfish memory everybody after 10 seconds it's But yeah James Cook he can get you like 70 yards on one drive and then all of a sudden be non-existent for the next drive but he does have the volume for that and I think that James Cook because he is such a dual threat from the rushing upside and the passing upside he can get a lot done for you which is why he is just top of the tier two you know in Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Nolan: In a perfect world, if he had those goal line looks, he might have snuck in as my last pick for tier 1, but as it stands. Keoni McKeague: Yeah, that's the irony is like when I had him the year before he was just the touchdown guy and then this year he's the yardage guy. So if he could just combine those two. I mean he might be in tier one. You know what mean? Alright. Nolan: Yeah. He might be...cookin'. Come on, come on. was, all right. Number two on my tier two. ⁓ I do have Ashton Gentey. I know he was one of your tier one's last segment, but ⁓ that's why I did keep him up high in my tier two, because I do agree with you that he is gonna have a much better opportunity. has Lindnerbaum now, obviously in that line. He's gonna get a fresh young quarterback who's probably gonna be playing and building chemistry with him off season to until on the field during the season. ⁓ Keoni McKeague: Yes. Mm-hmm. Nolan: And I think that they're gonna have to rely on him and Brock Bowers until they really can see what Fernando Mendoza, know, hypothetically, because we still have not seen the draft, but I'm assuming it's gonna be Fernando Mendoza. ⁓ Keoni McKeague: Yeah. If they don't, would just... I was just saying. Nolan: The Raider Nation will still not leave their team. But yeah, I think that he's going to get a much bigger piece of the pie this season because they know what he can do. ⁓ The flashes that he showed last season are exactly what you want to see from a top 10 draft pick. And I think that that's exactly what they're going to get this season in his next ⁓ step up. ⁓ Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Nolan: Next one I have on this list is Amarion Hampton. We discussed it last part with the quarterback, Justin Herbert and all that. We have a very stacked offense there, but last season, especially when Amarion went down and Najee went down, you couldn't really tell and gain traction for him on if he's really a running back one. By the end of season when he returned and he was healthy, they gave him the rock a lot more. Keoni McKeague: Mm-hmm. Nolan: and then you saw what he could actually do. So now that he's going to be coming into the season healthy, he doesn't have Najee Harris, who's going to be starting the season as a running back one. He's going to be taking the field, ⁓ getting that first snap. So I think that this is going to be another moment for him. And we also saw what Mike McDaniels did with Devon Aitchin. And I'm not saying that they're both the same player, but if you have ⁓ a OC or a head coach, whatever you want to call it in this situation, that is going to give opportunity to your running back, someone that's young. Keoni McKeague: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Nolan: fast aggressive it's gonna speak volumes for that so Amaran Hampton next one ⁓ my phone closed sorry ⁓ next I have Kenneth Walker ⁓ this yep this is a for me it felt like a little risk to put them in there because one we don't know what's going to be the situation with Patty ⁓ obviously Travis Kelsey just signed a new extension a three-year extension god damn you know ⁓ Keoni McKeague: ⁓ yeah. Mm-hmm. I can't even believe they signed him to that many years and that much money. Yeah. I was like, maybe he's fully back in shape. And I mean, I just thought he was kind of tail end there. yeah, three years is pretty wild. I mean, he's still, mean, real world wise, he's still young and he's a tight end. So it's not like he needs to be like keeping crazy burst or anything. But I'm just surprised he's still going. Nolan: I know. Yeah. But He's got some dog in him left. ⁓ yeah. And like, knock on wood, his injury list has not been extensive. He's been very good about keeping his body in check. But Kenneth Walker, you know, as someone who had my doubts about him last season, just given how he played, like the weeks I would play against Kenneth Walker, he didn't show up and I was like, a joke. But then as the season progressed, he started picking up steam. He's out of the shadow of having to coexist with Zach Charbonneau now. Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Yeah, that's true. Nolan: Actually like during that whole playoff run into the Super Bowl Dude was just trucking everything that was coming his way his ability to juke players off of him as he was going downfield Was insane to watch if he brings that same energy to a Chiefs team that knows how to run the ball with Andy Reid at the helm I think Kenneth Walker has a really big opportunity to once again elevate his game Next on this list Saquon Barkley ⁓ Keoni McKeague: Yeah. ⁓ yeah. Nolan: I'm keeping him up there in tier 2. know, some people were like, ⁓ we should fade Sehqon this season. Sehqon is still Sehqon. He didn't get injured last year. It's not like he lost a step. The way they used him was just not how you wanted to. get... ⁓ Sean Mannion as the new OC. You talked about it a little bit with Jalen Hurts. This is going to be a much different team coming into this next season. So I think that they're going to go back to the well. Like what worked when they won the Super Bowl? Sehqon. Keoni McKeague: I Exactly. Nolan: I think that that's going to be another moment for them that's going to actually get really exciting for Saekwon fans and for Eagles fans. Keoni McKeague: Let's hope they don't overuse the tushbush again because I think that was the biggest gripe. Yeah. Nolan: That is the worry. Yeah, that is like, that's a big gripe with me. It just, it's so toxic to watch. Keoni McKeague: Getting to two or three yards out from a first down and then using a tush push is the lamest thing that they do. Okay, goal line, cool. First down, one yard out, cool. But when you're at the three, you're away from the first down, like, come on, bro. What are we doing here? Yeah, I was like, come on. Nolan: Yeah. Yeah, let's be smart about this. Come on. You have Saekwon Mother F'in Barkley. Come on. And then next down, I got Chase Brown. Did not mean to rhyme, but I did. Sorry, as I was saying, I was like, oh no. Keoni McKeague: Yeah, no, for real. Yeah. Ha ha ha ha. I don't know part of you part of me also feels like you wrote that Next down is chase brown Nolan: I did it! Mine is literally just a list. It's a... Chase Brown! Keoni McKeague: next for y'all. Nolan: Hahaha! I hate it here. But the hope is still that they're gonna figure out something to do with this O line for the Bengals. Chase Brown, he got kind of shafted last season. Obviously, I had him as my keeper last season, and I had to move off of him during, I want to say like week five or week six or something like that. Keoni McKeague: Yeah. think there was like a weird or funny statistic of like 90 % of owners gave up on Chase Brown within the first like six weeks or something like that. Yeah. Nolan: Yeah, and you know, I was wrong. I'll be the first to admit it because he showed up and showed out the next half of season. ⁓ Yeah. Yeah. But now obviously you have Joe Burrow who's going to be checking down to him. Chase Brown still is a great running back. And I think that this offense, because they have so many cooks in the kitchen, it actually works to their benefit because they are able to kind of just change up everything on the pace for it. Keoni McKeague: Nobody could have called that. Nobody could have called them traded for Joe Flacco. You know what mean? Yeah. That was the savior. Nolan: And Chase Brown is going to be the main benefactor from that when maybe the past game is not or he doesn't have enough time in the pocket to do something. So Chase Brown is still in there for tier two. My final one for tier two. And it's because he is just that consistent dog every season. He showed up last season as well. Josh Jacobs. ⁓ This Green Bay Packers team has relied on him time and time again. ⁓ Not saying that he is the automatic game changer for them. But when you have someone that's consistent and reliable as Josh Jacobs, it makes your offense sing a lot more. I think that coming into this season where we don't know how this team is going to look, ⁓ you know, there's not much positivity coming out about them, but there are also not a lot of negativity. The one thing that is still going to be positive about this team is Josh Jacobs. And so I'm keeping him at tier two because I think he's going to be still that big threat for them. And that's fine. That's it. Keoni McKeague: Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly. Yeah, I was like that's a they were one of the most run heavy or the most run heavy offenses last year. So I mean, I don't disagree with that at all. I'm going to start off my list. Like I said, I have 10. Did it differentiate? Well, no, I lied. I never take that all the way back. Sorry. I was like, definitely differentiated, but I was like, James Cook is still at the top of this tier. That's what I was going to say. Yeah, James Cook. There's nothing really. Nolan: you Yeah. Keoni McKeague: Terrible about the situation and like I said, if he combines the two efforts of his last two years into this year, I mean, he's the ultimate RB one kind of breakout candidate that you'd want in sort of the second and third rounds this year, because that's probably where he's falling likely somewhere at the top of the second, but we'll see. ⁓ But yeah, I was like, I have him there very high upside. Obviously, if we can just match the two, that'd be great. And the team didn't really change too much offensively. So just nothing to really be worried about there. ⁓ The second one I have is already where my hot takes start. put I put Jeremiah Love here. I was like, think Jeremiah Love, similarly to Ashton Gentry, is somebody that could be in the tier one, depending on his landing situation. He has all of the talent in the world. I think he's one of the better players that we've gotten at the running back position in probably the last five years, along with Ashton Gentry. And as we saw, it takes a Nolan: ⁓ god. Cool. Mm-hmm. Keoni McKeague: Well, let me rephrase that. was like, with Ashton Gentry, it was kind of like a bad situation. He still made the best out of it. With Jeremiah Love, he's probably stepping into a better situation on the teams that he slated to land. I mean, you look at the Giants, you look at the Titans, and you look at the Washington Commanders, all three teams that have been rumored heavily to be drafting him. If he lands in any of those situations, he's automatically RB1 on those teams and he's automatically in a much better situation than Ash and Gentie landed last year. my feeling is that Jeremiah Love is going to be one of those players that you're going to have to buy in on pretty early if you want to catch the upside swing. Because I do think that once he gets drafted, especially if he lands in a system like the Giants, mean. you're automatically going to be wanting to take this kid on your team just because of that situation. anyway, that's my number two. Number three, have Devon HN. mean, like you mentioned already in the last tier, I mean, this kid has obviously got all the upside in the world. He's still one of the better running backs in the league, still very fast. ⁓ Gonna be a very different system. You know what mean? It's a very different coaching staff. You know, that all has to play into it. Obviously, we're still gonna be looking at what they're gonna be game planning for. That's the only reason I moved him into Tier 2 and didn't have him into Tier 1. I think he's a Tier 1 talent. I think the situation that he's in is questionable at best. Though I don't disagree that they're gonna be using him a ton, like how you mentioned in the last pod. My worry is that this will end up being a committee thing just because they have. three very talented running backs in that backfield. mean, you still have Jaylin Wright who showed out last year, especially when HN was down for a week or two. And then of course you have Ollie Gordon who's there that's a power back that can kind of do things that Devon HN cannot do and is probably their goal line back this year. So that's my only worry with this team. I think they will be run heavy. Jeff Halfley coming over from. Nolan: Mm-hmm. Keoni McKeague: did you have from the Green Bay Packers? I think that tells you I mean they were the most run heavy. He's coming in with that mentality. Usually defensive coaches come in with that mentality and that's what he was. He was defensive coach. That's a head coach now. So I'm worried about that system messing up a chance value. But ⁓ anyway, still haven't made tier two. So still very high. Next, I have Chase Brown. I think Chase Brown. We knew that he was going to be the upside swing last year. I that that's even more so this year and I put him here. I actually moved him here from probably our last pot till now because they did sign Joe Flacco again. And I think that having the security of knowing that Joe Flacco will be your second QB on the bench after Joe Burrow, if Joe Burrow goes down, I think that that's the blanket that you needed. You know what I mean? That's the comfort that you needed to know in case something bad does go wrong with Joe Burrow. yes. Nolan: Mm-hmm. You got two Joes and both of them are gonna get it to you. Keoni McKeague: Exactly. So I really, really like him here. And I think that the upside is crazy for Chase Brown. And I like him ⁓ being in that system. At number five, have Seyquan Barkley. Not much needs to be said. You said it all. Seyquan is still Seyquan. So hopefully this year they use him the way that he should be used. If you're fading him out of tier two, I just don't understand you because this dude was literally number one running back like last year. And now he's, you know, I mean, somewhere in the mix there for the top eight. So, I mean, come on, what are we talking about here? ⁓ Next number six, I have Kenneth Walker agree with everything you said, you know with the Chiefs I think that he makes a ton of sense there in the beginning. They're going to be relying on him. The only worry I do have that's why I sent him to the middle of this tier is Justin Fields. I mean they signed him. We know how he plays. He's not a great throwing QB. He's going to be using his legs a whole time. He does hold on to the ball ⁓ way more than he should. So hopefully Andy Reid can coach that out of him. So we'll get great value out of him eventually, but As of right now, him stealing touches away from Kenneth Walker is my only worry. They don't really have anybody of note behind him. They had, what was his name from last year that they drafted? ⁓ Breschard Smith. Breschard Smith. Yeah, I was like Breschard Smith. mean, he was great. You know what mean? But he's not somebody that I'm worried about taking touches away from this year's Super Bowl MVP. So ⁓ past him, Derek Henry. I think I couldn't move him out of this tier or away from this tier. don't think they had him in this tier, but ⁓ I did put him in this tier because again, this is a guy that just always continues to, you know, show that age is just a number. You know what I mean? Nolan: For what? ⁓ yeah. Yeah. Keoni McKeague: When you're six to two, whatever he is, mean, that's it's a lot of mass and muscle to get around. at the very least, even though he's going to lose us. Yeah, quite literally. Yeah. When he even if he loses a step in his speed, I mean, he's got all the power in the world. So, I mean, this guy is not going to be going anywhere anytime soon. I think he's one of those guys that's built for longevity. And, you know, assuming that this team doesn't really fix anything throwing wise, we're going to see a lot of him and. Nolan: He's the juggernaut, bro. Once he gets moving, ⁓ god! Keoni McKeague: Lamar Jackson running the ball, so ⁓ I'm still putting him in this tier right after him I have Josh Jacobs agree with everything who said run heavy offense ⁓ Somebody that I really thought I'd have higher on this list But as I broke everything down it's funny how like this situation is better this situation better this situation better and then you can't kind of just keep sliding him down further and further so ⁓ Yeah, Josh Jacobs still in there for tier two for me moving on to number nine This is I guess you know hot take because he's not near this tier, but I put Breeze Hall ⁓ We saw what Breece Hall did last year. That team was terrible. He was everything that they needed him to be and more. ⁓ He finished in the top 10 of running backs as somebody in a terrible system. He's going to be on this team again, even if it's against his will. But and I do think that they actually improved this offseason. They have a much better defense. Aaron Glenn did get his wish on that side of the ball, so they won't have to. Nolan: Hehehe Keoni McKeague: fully rely on everything on the offensive side or excuse me on the defensive side or vice versa, whatever you want to think about it is. So that means Bruce Hall will still be as big of part of this system as he was this last year. Depending on what the quarterback situation looks like, obviously you're to have Geno Smith in there. I don't know if they're going to, I know they've been looking at Ty Simpson. I believe they're meeting with him today actually. But. If that happens, if that doesn't happen, either way, Brice Hall is going to be heavily involved in this offense. ⁓ I just don't see him disappearing at all, especially if this ends up being a weird situation where he just plays out the franchise tag on this one gear. He's going to be playing to try to get a contract next year. So if it's not to get paid by the Jets, it's to get paid by somebody else next offseason. So fully believe in Brice Hall being a top guy this year again. And then the final guy that I have in this tier, which I feel like is similar to the guy that's at the top of my next tier because most times I always disrespect him and move him lower. It's Kyron Williams. ⁓ Somebody that I don't often think about when I think about these are the guys that I want to draft, but he always produces, you know what mean? Like he's in one of the best offenses in all of the NFL. Like he's always in the top six of running backs every single year from fantasy. like literally. Nolan: ⁓ The volume, bro. Keoni McKeague: Yeah, I just don't understand why everybody always disrespects Kyren. I believe he had like one year in the sun and that one year was enough for everybody to move him down the list because he was like a top six drafted quarterback or running back and then he ended up sliding down the list just because he had a OK year. But to me, it's I mean, he has all the talent. He has a great team. It just makes sense, man. He should be in this tier. And that's why the tier is so big for me. Yeah. And like I said, Nolan: What are we doing? Keoni McKeague: If you're wondering why my list is so big and why it looks like it's like already going to run out of players, heavily emphasizing running backs this year. And like I told Nolan, this is how I wanted us to think of the tears more in the sense of like, if you had this guy over that guy, who are you drafting? These are the guys that I'm prioritizing drafting over a lot of wide receivers this year. ⁓ anyway, let's move to that wide receiver position. and start off with the Fantasy Pros list because we do have their list here. Their Tier 2 starts with CD-LAM, then Aman Ra St. Brown, Justin Jefferson, Drake London, Balik Neighbors, and Nico Collins. If you were here last week, know a few of those names are already on our list for Tier 1. So, Nolan, how many do you have in Tier 2 for your wide receiver position and who are they? Nolan: Alright, tier one. Once again, I have seven. Keoni McKeague: ⁓ wow, you're very consistent with that. I also have seven, so right on. Nolan: Yeah. Right on. Yeah, so starting out, I'm just going to put these two as a duo because they're on the same team. I actually have George Pickens, CD Lamb, ⁓ mainly because you know, they're we've talked about it. They're both wide receiver ones. We've talked about what that can do. This Dallas offense is firing all cylinders nowadays. And I do think that these two are going to benefit heavily. ⁓ Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Nolan: If one of them is gone and you pick the other, you're gonna win. You're winning either way. ⁓ Moving on to the third in my tier, I have Chris Olave. ⁓ Tyler Shuck, what he did last season, I don't think was any fluke. They're gonna come back a little bit stronger, a little bit more depth-wise this season. ⁓ And I think Chris Olave is still being the wide receiver one with a, for lack of a better sense, a Keoni McKeague: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nolan: good QB ⁓ is gonna actually pay off in dividends for whoever actually does draft Chris Falafel, as long as he can stay healthy. Because I think last season he didn't miss a game and we saw what he could do. So ⁓ next on the list, something about those guys. ⁓ Next one on my list, Nico Collins. Nico is still Nico once again, another wide receiver who ⁓ Keoni McKeague: Mm-hmm. Did not. Yep. Dem Ohio State wide receivers man. You know what saying? You know what saying? Nolan: I think only missed a game or two because of a concussion, not even like a soft tissue injury or anything that he normally gets to deal with. So maybe he is changing something up in his regimen to keep his body a lot more fresh and agile. And Nico Collins is still a dog. When Shroud is able to get him that ball, Nico Collins is able to push upfield like crazy. ⁓ He's very lengthy. Huh? Yeah, Shroud. Keoni McKeague: Yeah, shroud. Get him the ball. Nolan: freaking ball. Especially if he's on my team. ⁓ But obviously, in comparison to last season's draft, Nico Collins has taken a drop down ⁓ from where he was being picked up last season because I think he was picked up seven. Yeah, he was tier one last season. ⁓ Keoni McKeague: Stupid face. ⁓ he was tier one. Yeah, I was like, yeah. Nolan: I do think that this is another opportunity for him to push back up to that tier one ⁓ as we look into the season as it progresses. But that's going to be up to him and Stroud. Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Yeah, this is kind of like the buy-in tier where it's like a lot of these guys are going to be like, they could be, you know what I mean? They're right there. Yeah, they just need to have that good year, you know what I mean? Nolan: They could be depending. Yeah. I would say a lot of the guys from Chris Olave to the last pick of my tier two are they could be, but their situation is what's in question. So obviously just want to Nico second or next up in that list is Ted. ⁓ Tedaroya McMillan, ⁓ Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I agree with that. Nolan: He is a dog of a wide receiver. He's the offensive rookie of the year, if I remember correctly. ⁓ The situation that I'm more concerned with is what Bryce Young we're going to get. You know, he was a lot more consistent last year, but not necessarily, you know, Pro Bowl, QB kind of ⁓ talent. But with that kind of. Right behind him. ⁓ Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Yep. And Kenny Pickett is right there. Right behind him, just waiting. Nolan: But yeah, mean, if he's able to get offensive rookie of the year with a Bryce Young that is still, you know, hopefully growing and learning and progressing as his career continues, I think that this could be another opportunity for Ted to actually take another step as well. Next on the list, Malik Neighbors. Now, he's a little lower on this tier because we don't know what he's going to look like returning from an ACL tear. Usually wide receivers. Keoni McKeague: like that. Yeah, there's been some bad news, or I should say not positive news coming out of that team. We don't know where he's at health-wise. Nolan: Yeah, they've been kind of keeping it little under the covers. Not anything bad bad, but like nothing that's like, don't worry guys, he's ready to go. Yeah. Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Yeah, David said he took a step back. Yeah, but I think one of the things that I was listening to a podcast for fantasy pros again, not sponsored, but I was like, I was listening to one of their podcasts and they talked about how, yeah, the moves that they're making also make you worry about how he is health wise. Cause they did go out and get a couple of receivers, know, Calvin Austin is nothing to sniff at. Obviously, oh boy, Darnell Mooney, nothing to sniff at again. I mean, this, the moves that they've been making have seemingly put us in that idea of like, is he healthy? Nolan: Yeah. Keoni McKeague: You know what mean? Is he getting better? Nolan: I'm wondering if it's more of like they don't have any I looked at it as more they don't have any reservations on his return but they just want to make sure that they have the depth in case maybe yeah yeah Keoni McKeague: It's worrisome. I agree. agree. You know, it's funny. Again, this is a half glass empty, half glass full type of situation. Like we had the last pod where you were very positive. Yeah, I'm on that negative train of just like, you know, that is worrying me a little bit. Because like you already had a couple of guys who were there. Now you're adding two more guys who seemingly step in immediately and start over the other guys. But I mean. Nolan: Yeah. Yeah. Keoni McKeague: And then I say, likely, you know what I mean? You know what I mean? Yeah, so we'll see. I don't know, bro. Yeah. Nolan: We'll see. John Harbaugh, what you doing? And then to wrap up this tier two, Rashii Rice. ⁓ Now he's at the bottom of this tier. Brother. ⁓ He is there mainly because I don't know who his QB will be. If it is Justin Fields for majority of the season, I would push him down to tier three. Keoni McKeague: Ew. Ew. Ew. Nolan: I'm hoping T3 would be the lowest I send him, but we have a great sample size of what kind of quarterback Justin Fields has been. You mentioned him earlier when it came to the running backs. ⁓ So there is a world where Rashid Rice's value just plummets. ⁓ If Patrick, because apparently Patrick Mahomes is ahead of schedule two in his recovery. So if that man somehow is ready by the first month of season, ⁓ Rashid Rice fans rejoice. Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Saw that, Nolan: Owners rejoice, because it's going to be. Keoni McKeague: I saw a report that said week four, which I'm kind of like, like, I mean, if he's ready by then, geez, that's technology, Nolan: Why rush him back? I'm wondering if they're gonna play out those first three to four weeks. If they have a positive record, then maybe they kind of like let it slide in. Because they're third, they got third in their division last year, so their schedule should relatively be... Keoni McKeague: That's where I'm at. Yeah, that's where I'm at. think you just. Because the Raiders were the only, yeah, Raiders were last, yeah, obviously, yeah, they were third. Nolan: So their schedule should be, for the most part, a little bit more leveled out. Yeah. So we'll see. But that wraps up tier two. Keoni McKeague: Softish. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I... Me and you were in sync on this this tier of wide receivers. The only difference I had was Amun Ra at the top, because obviously I did not have him in tier one. He's at the top of my tier two. Like I mentioned in the last one, really just has everything to do with the situation of the Detroit Lions and nothing to do with Amun Ra. I think he's still one of the best wide receivers in the league. Yeah, not too much to talk about there. You know, great talent, just bad situation. And I want the exact order for the rest of the players. minus Rashi Rice. I did not have him in there at all, but... ⁓ Nolan: Gosh. ⁓ you pushed him at three. Keoni McKeague: don't even know if I have it, but to be honest, that's, you know what mean? That situation is all weird. but yeah, I had George Pickens, C.D. Lamb, Chris Olavi, Nico Collins, Teteroy McMillan, Malik Neighbors. So we were completely in sync with this. I was like, when you were singing the names, you're like, I gotta sing. Teteroy, I was like, didn't expect that. And then after this, Malik, I was like, we're just, I know this is completely in sync. What the what, Nolan? Nolan: Fair enough, fair enough, we'll get to that. Yep, yep. Hey-ho! What? He's like looking around, is there a camera in here? What the f- Keoni McKeague: What the what Nolan? You don't say that word on this podcast. Don't worry. I'm sure our editor won't mind you have to do it Anyway, ⁓ yeah, mean, exact same order for all the same reasons, really. I mean, there's nothing really more to talk about here. I know I put Malik at the bottom of this tier just because talent wise, top tier could be top of this tier, but. Nolan: Did I say something? Keoni McKeague: As far as health and the situation that's going on with the Giants, the other part of this is going to be what does Harbaugh do to all of this? How does he change the system? What does he do for the players here? We'll see how that all plays out. But technically speaking, it is a much better situation for Malik. ⁓ Hopefully that plays out. Tedaroya. The only thing I was going to add to that is that obviously like his talent is why he's in this tier. The team, I'm just worried about the team possibly taking a step back. And I'm not saying that they will. They obviously are much improved. The defense is really good. They were one of the best defenses last year. But there's something about those years, you know what I mean? Where you have this rallying mentality. This is gonna be a tough division, man. I mean, a lot of the teams in the division improved, all things told, where does that put them? Now they have a number one schedule, as opposed to last year, where they did not have that schedule. So it's a lot of things that are working against the team. That's the only worry with me. For Nico, again, talent, bad situation. Chris Olave. Nolan: Mm-hmm. Keoni McKeague: Talent better situation. So that's why he's up where he's at and then I agreed with the George Pickens over CD lambs situation. So yeah Can't believe we were completely in single that one. But anyway, let's move on to the tight end position This is tier two for us Nolan. How many do you have in this tier? ⁓ actually, excuse me. Let me throw out the tight ends for fantasy pros fantasy pros has ⁓ I didn't realize that they did they have that last week Nolan: Easy easy. Keoni McKeague: I can't remember who said was in the top tier last week. Nolan: I think it was, for their consensus, was Trey Brock Colston Tucker. Keoni McKeague: Yeah, okay. Because now they have Tyler Warren up there. So, conceivably so I guess for us in this conversation. Tyler Warren, Harold Fanon, Sam Laporta, Kyle Pitts, Dalton Kincaid, or Rhonda Gatson. That's who they have in tier two. Nolan, how many do you have in tier two and what are the names that you want to throw out there? Nolan: Mmm. Mine is a little different. ⁓ Starting off, because I didn't put him in tier one, Colston Loveland. ⁓ Five, sorry. Five picks for this one. ⁓ Colston Loveland, I do think that he is going to be same thing that we talked about with ⁓ Caleb Williams. Keoni McKeague: How many do you have? Fine, got you. Nolan: another season as the drafted tight end for Ben Johnson. This is going to speak volumes to how he's going to be used this season. I think that they're the way they're revolving around this young core. It's going to be a lot more fluid for them with a Dunzey, Burden, him and then Williams. ⁓ Next on the list, I have Tyler Warren. Only reason I didn't put him in tier one or the top of tier two is because we don't know who the QB is. And I think that's the biggest gripe we have. ⁓ But, you know, if word comes out that You know, Riley Leonard is going to be the starting quarterback for the season. I may have him pushed up over Colston. We'll kind of see how that all plays out. But as of right now, he's my second in tier two. Number three, I Kyle Pitts. ⁓ I do think that he has earned himself a lot more higher of a ranking than he previously had in the seasons. He is going to be getting questionably a better throwing quarterback. Keoni McKeague: Yeah. Nolan: I think, you know, in the right situation too is actually going to do a lot more positivity for this team and the offense. Kyle Pitts being the one, especially ⁓ because the coaching staff saw what Kyle Pitts is, I'm sure they're going to kind of shoehorn him into a lot of the offensive sets. So I have a lot of hope for what Kyle Pitts brings in his second season off of that first one. ⁓ Not first one, but you know, first big season. Yeah. Next down I have Sam Laporta. ⁓ You know, Keoni McKeague: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Nolan: Say what you want about the Lions offense right now and what the team outlook is. If Sam Laporta is back and healthy, ready to go, he has had arguably a great three season start as a tight end. ⁓ He had a fantastic rookie season, took a slide second season. Last season he came out in all cylinders, but it just ended early because of, I think it was low back injury. ⁓ So if he's able to come back healthy and ready to go, I think that Sam Laporta is going to be a mainstay. Keoni McKeague: ⁓ yeah. Nolan: big key part of this offense just like Amon is. ⁓ And then finally to wrap up tier 2 for the tie to ends I have Harold Fanon. Now the reason I pushed him down ⁓ is only because we don't know what the quarterback is gonna be you know? ⁓ Yeah. ⁓ I don't have any thought as to why I would push him down to tier 3 though because Keoni McKeague: Mm-hmm. I know. As is the name for all of the guys in this tier pretty much. Nolan: You don't have Njoku there anymore. It's him alone. So you know he's going to be used, especially with how the receiving chord looks on that team. ⁓ I think that this is going to be a Harold Fanon breakout season again. Keoni McKeague: Yep. Yep. Yeah, wholeheartedly agree. My list was slightly different, but pretty much the same ish. But yeah, to start off, got five Titans in this tier. I obviously had Colston Loveland in the last one, so I did not have him here. But I do have Tyler Warren at the top of this tier. Again, he could be tier one if we just knew what the situation with the QB was going to be like. Daniel Jones, still not sure when he's coming back. That's going to be something that needs to get ironed out eventually. Nolan: Mm-hmm. Keoni McKeague: Again, the security blanket, I think thing that you said about Brock Bowers in the last pod regarding Fernando Mendoza. I think that is the same here for whoever the QB is, and especially if it is Riley Leonard. So I agree with that take on if Riley Leonard has to get the ball out to somebody, it's going to be Tyler Warren. So wholeheartedly believe that he's going to be a top tight end this year. That's why I have him here and that's why I drafted him last year. But number two, I actually have Isaiah likely. I think that in a giant system that has a lot of okay threats, mostly vertical threats, but not a lot of like big targets to throw the ball to, possession guys, especially because this is Harbaugh coming in here, especially because Harbaugh also brought in Patrick Ricard, who is one of the better blocking fullbacks, which means that you won't need him to block. Isaiah likely is going to be one of those guys that has a big breakout year this year. He's somebody that they tried to utilize more with the Ravens. But of course, you have Mark Andrews there. So what are you going to do? You can't completely rule him out of the game because he is such a good talent and such a mainstay in that locker room and all that sort of stuff. Isaiah likely is going to be 100 % on his own able to shine with this team this year. So fully bought in on Isaiah likely being a tight end one, you know what I mean? Technically, because we only had four in the first tier or whatever it might be. So I fully believe that he's going to be a top tier guy. But yeah, I put him here just because we haven't seen it yet. So I can only put that as a what if situation because we haven't actually seen it play out yet. Number three, I have cow pits. think I agree with everything you said. Nolan: Mm-hmm. Keoni McKeague: Little worried about the fact that he would have been a much different type in from fantasy without that 40 point game. You know what mean? So that's the only thing that is a little worrisome. Yeah. Like I think they talked about it. It's like it's a difference of like six spots, I believe, without that game, his average would have been like six spots lower last year. Nolan: I forgot about that game. ⁓ my god. Mm-hmm. Keoni McKeague: All things told though, that does tell you, this guy can produce when he needs to produce. Drake London will be back in, so you're a little less, a little more worried, but in the same vein, different head coach, completely new system, no Mooney, two Otaka Wailoa. I mean, as we saw last year and I kind of mentioned already is like, this guy will be the ⁓ Darren Waller of this offense. Like you need a big red zone target. If it's not Drake London, Drake London's covered, double covered, whatever. Nolan: No Moony. Keoni McKeague: You got Kyle Pitts on the other side. So I do believe that he's going to have a lot of upside, especially as a tight end. mean, that's all you really need, right? Just a couple of good catches and a big touchdown or two. So ⁓ number four, Sam Laporta. I agree wholeheartedly. Even though I don't fully like the Detroit Lions ⁓ and what they got going on, I he's a mainstay. He's one of the few guys that's still around for this team. So I believe wholeheartedly that as a big three of like him, Amon Ra, Jameer Gibbs. He's still going to get some run with this team. So and finally agree wholeheartedly Harold Fanon at the bottom of this tier again could be higher, but the situation with the QB not liking it at all. And we don't even know even if it even if it does end up being like Chador. Sure, you know what mean? Sure, sure, sure, sure. Yeah, I know. ⁓ Anyway, I think that'll do it for our tier two conversation. Nolan, do you have anything else? Nolan: Yeah. Shader. Shader. Shader. Shader. Keoni McKeague: to say to the people at home before we bounce on out of this one. Nolan: You don't like our lists? I don't care. Keoni McKeague: If you don't agree, suck a butt. Anyway, yeah, obviously our tiers are going to be very different. And I will say to kind of defend some of the longer lists of these tiers, we are trying to stick to five tiers. know what mean? That's the whole reason why you might be hearing more names in these tiers than Nolan: Sucker butt, sucker butt! Keoni McKeague: you'll probably have in your tiers. But ⁓ again, this is kind of how we're drafting. And I also put out there that we are in a super flex league. So the thinking does kind of mix it a little bit. Yeah, it is mixing in a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. I still do firmly believe that these are the players that I would draft over the next tier of guys. But I'm just putting out there that obviously our lists are little bit bigger, especially in the quarterback area, because we were super flex league. But anyway. Nolan: is a little different. Half PPR super flexily. Keoni McKeague: ⁓ Yeah, that'll do it for this conversation Nolan. think that was fantastic. anyway, it has been a pleasure. It's been a joy from all of us here at points or Nolan: Love, Keoni McKeague: Bang, bang.